Lilypie - Kids Birthday

Lilypie - Fourth Birthday

Monday, February 28, 2011

Collin had the hiccups this morning and we thought it was so funny how they were interrupting his squeals. This video shows his interrupted squeals, but also some of the other sounds he makes. He's a pretty active boy in the mornings! :)

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Collin Cooper is one month old today! :) I love how these pictures show how much he has changed!

He looks less like a tiny baby and more like a little boy already! He is too long for most of his newborn clothes already, so he’s mostly wearing size 0-3 month clothes now.

Collin’s first month has been life-changing for us. It’s been fun and exhausting, exciting and frustrating, and an experience with a very steep learning curve! Most of all, the past month with Collin has been perfect because we love being parents to this little guy!!!

Let’s talk about some of Collin’s favorite things at the age of one month…

He is entranced by brightness – so much so that this morning he couldn’t turn away from the window because the sun was shining in even though the blinds were closed.

He has really intense visual focus. He makes good eye contact and watches things very closely. I have tons of pictures with him looking straight at the camera as proof. :)

He loves to use his hands. He puts them by his face while he’s sleeping, he’s learning to put them in his mouth as a source of comfort, and he moves them like crazy when he’s wide awake and squirming around.

He enjoys interesting noises and pays good attention to the sounds around him. So far his favorite toys have the crinkle paper inside them, and he loves all the sounds his dad makes to get his attention. :)

His very favorite thing at one month old is stretching. After breakfast this morning he yawned at least eight times in the thirty minutes until he fell back asleep. Raising one or both arms over his head to stretch them is a common occurrence, and he pushes his legs way out to stretch them. Remember the bicycle ab workout? Collin even does that when he’s happy and laying flat. :)

We love Collin so much more than we ever thought possible, and we are absolutely thankful for the blessing it is to be his parents. We’re looking forward to what the next month brings! :)

Friday, February 25, 2011

Collin had a well-baby checkup today since he’ll be a month old on Sunday. We got to see his primary physician today, Dr. Bob. He’s great and Collin seemed to like him. I like the way he’s very thorough, but laid-back at the same time.

Collin is in about the 54th percentile for weight and length. I’m not sure about the percentile on his head size.

He got a full physical exam and everything looked great. He also got his second hepatitis B vaccine in the thigh. He only cried for a minute. :)

We’ve mostly just been hanging out this week and trying to get on a routine. Yesterday and today Collin took a 3 hour nap in the morning and then one hour naps in the afternoon. He eats, stays awake for 30-60 minutes, and then naps.

The most refreshing news of today is that Collin slept a 6-hour stretch and then a 3-hour stretch last night!!! :)

We’re having dinner tonight with Collin’s best friend Tanner and his parents Harrison and Janice. :)

I’ll leave you with a few photos from the week…

I said, “Raise your hand if you like helping Mom make dinner.” :)

I think he’s skeptical because he’s only met one chick so far, and a one-year-old is way too old for him! :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I thought it would be interesting to record what Collin does all day, so yesterday I took notes. Here’s a pretty typical day:

6:45 wake up to eat 7:15 hang out in Dad and Mom’s bed until they’re ready to get up 8:15 watch Mom and Dad have breakfast 8:30 sit in the boppy while Mom makes Dad’s lunch (squeal every once in awhile to remind her I’m helping) 8:45 kiss Daddy when he leaves for work 9-10 hang out with Mom and give advice about my favorite birth announcements and resist the urge to sleep 10 eat 10:30 play time 11-1 nap in my crib 1 eat 1:30 watch Mom eat lunch (and wish I was having leftover Chipotle too) 2 take the dogs for a walk 3-4 nap in my crib 4 eat 4:30 show off my charming personality when our neighbor Linda visits 5-6:45 nap in my crib 6:45 eat 7 help make dinner 7:10 take my amoxicillin 7:12 puke up my amoxicillin and all my dinner 7:13 scream while I get cleaned up and changed 7:30 snuggle with Dad during dinner 8 eat 8:15 play with Daddy 8:30 bed time

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Collin spent a little time yesterday holding onto his own toy for the first time. Until now, I’ve been holding his toys while he watches, but yesterday he held it himself and figured out how to the get the toy to his mouth! He’s growing and changing so quickly!

Wait… you want me to take it? Whoa! I’m holding my own toy! So you can get an idea of what it looks like and sounds like when Collin plays, here’s a video:

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Collin was dedicated to Jesus at this morning's church service! He was so awesome during the entire service. He slept through the rocking music and woke up for just a couple minutes while he was on display for the congregation. :)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Kristi, the photographer we had over when Collin was one week old, posted a sneak peek of our photo shoot on her blog. She mailed a disc with all the images to us, but here are the shots she posted:These pictures are all amazing, and I'm so excited to see the rest!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

We had an appointment at Dr. Russell's on Thursday, and it was a really sweet opportunity to reflect on the journey that brought Collin into our lives. When we walked in, Dr. Russell's wife Jennifer came running around the reception desk saying, "How is he? How is he?" When I told her that he's perfect, she said, "Of course he is. I knew he would be. We prayed for this guy!" Dr. Russell came out into the hallway and cried when he saw Collin. We talked about the prayers and the faith that were such a huge part of the wait for Collin, and it was just so cool to be reminded again of how great our God is.

To think that we were offered the option of terminating the pregnancy is so scary, because look at this gorgeous guy!!!

On a lighter note, I took some shots of Collin during play time this morning. I sing to him and he dances. You know, it's just your average, every day newborn dance session. :)